What is Marketing (your entrance to the world of marketing)

 Marketing means in English Marketing, and it is a process that starts from visualizing and planning products and services, implementing this perception to satisfy the target customer, pricing the product or service intelligently, distributing and placing the product in the right place in front of the right customer, and promoting it in all possible ways. And in the end achieve the ultimate goal, which is to get more profits for the organization.

Therefore, we can conclude that marketing is more than just tactics carried out by marketing managers, rather it is a process that starts from the idea of the product in the foundation.

In fact, Marketing has become an integral part of our lives and our world. Today, everything and everyone is trying to market for themselves in order to achieve their various goals, whatever they are.

It is no longer just about pushing customers to buy, but rather about creating a relationship between what is being marketed and whomever it is being marketed to.

We wrote this article in The Winners because of the great importance of marketing and the need to understand it, whether this is your field or not, and we have provided everything you could need to know about the world of marketing.

Therefore, we are confident that the article will be worth your time, and will bring you great benefit, whether in your work, or on the cultural and cognitive level to understand what is happening in the world of marketing, which has become a basic pillar of the global economy at the present time.

What is Marketing in a nutshell?

It is difficult to find a specific and clear definition of marketing, especially in light of the complexity of our world. We are not in the nineties, for example, when everything was clear and direct.

Any definition said about marketing will be limited, and if you gather 5 marketers in one room, and ask them to define marketing, then rather each one of them will tell you a different definition.

Today, marketing is no longer just about selling or even promoting, but it has gone much beyond that, and it is involved in the production process from the ground up, and the distribution and targeting processes.

Marketing is basically an idea for a product or service, then employing that idea to support the consumer's need or create the consumer's need.

This is done by understanding the market, identifying the consuming category of the product or service, studying the needs of the public in order to realize the idea on the ground, and promoting it in ways that reach the consuming category easily until we reach the provision of the appropriate service or product at the appropriate price.

Marketing can also be defined briefly as: a set of operations and activities that work to discover the customer's desires, and to develop products that, on the one hand, satisfy this customer's desires, and on the other hand, achieve the goal of the organization, which is profit.

We can also call the concept of marketing that it is the process of identifying the target market, through its segmentation and analysis, understanding customer trends and providing them with high value.

Several conditions must be met to manage a successful marketing process, namely, having a clear idea of the target market and understanding its dimensions professionally, working on long-term plans based on building a strong brand, and achieving continuous growth for the organization or project.

Professional marketing is also based on analysis, which is a very important element, and is the basis on which smart marketing strategies depend.

But what type of analysis is used in marketing operations?? It is the analysis of the customer, understanding his behaviors, desires, motives, and preferences, and collecting all the data and information that pertains to him. It is also the analysis of the market, its size and special circumstances, and the size of the competition in it.

And in the end, using this analysis in the work of the product, choosing its price, determining its distribution areas, and creating advertising campaigns to achieve the best level of sales and then profits.

Therefore, we can consider that marketing is a large group of smart planning, data collection, analysis and work on it, a process that may be complex, but it has occupied the minds of entrepreneurs and business owners throughout history and different eras.

It is certainly art and innovation, and innovation creates distinction, and that is what all companies and business owners seek, and what makes them hire marketers with high salaries.

Because of this, marketing is today the cornerstone of increasing sales and profits and creating new markets for new needs.

Also read: The most important marketing books that experts unanimously agree that you should read

Marketing types

The types of marketing are very many and varied. For example, at the beginning it is possible to say that it is divided into traditional marketing and digital marketing.

However, this is still not enough, because the world of marketing is wide and diverse, and includes such types as:

A) Influencer Marketing: It is a type of marketing that relies on people with great influence capabilities to attract and convince individuals of the business message, and push them to do the required action such as buying and others, as sometimes their role here is inspiration.

b) Prints Marketing: It is a type of traditional marketing based on promoting business through publications that are distributed.

C) Keyword Marketing: A type of marketing that relies on targeting specific keywords to reach the appropriate audience.

d) Viral Marketing: It is a type of marketing that relies on encouraging individuals to share the business and brand message with others, which contributes to its wide spread among a large audience.

E) Guerilla Marketing: It relies on creative strategies and ideas in order to achieve the best possible marketing result.

f) SEO search engine optimization: A type of e-marketing that relies on optimizing the contents of websites to reach the best ranking within the search engine results.

j) Content Marketing: A type of marketing that relies on content in all its forms to reach the required marketing results.

Of course, these are not all types of marketing, but we mentioned them only to give examples, but there are dozens if not hundreds of other types.

Also read: The difference between telemarketing

My hands are email marketing

Marketing history

Marketing is as old as civilizations themselves. Perhaps you have ever watched historical films about a certain era, and you have seen scenes of active markets and trade at that time.

Merchants have been using the principles of marketing since ancient times, as they display commodities in large markets where there is an audience interested in buying these commodities and products.

The crowd goes to the markets, chooses the merchant they think is the best, and buys to satisfy their material needs.

Of course, these merchants did not name their business activities, but they only relied on displaying their products in a good way to attract customers to buy the offered product.

As for the concept of marketing, which we currently see in its advanced form, it only actually started as a result of a series of developments that began in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through the industrial revolutions.

This era witnessed many great changes on the industrial and commercial levels, which in turn led to great societal changes.

The first result of this era was the separation of production from consumption, and mass production at that time required producers and manufacturers to develop more complex methods for managing the distribution of produced goods.

We can divide the stages of the development of the marketing process into three stages, each stage had a basic and prevailing trend, namely:

The first stage: moving towards more production to keep up with demand

At the beginning of the industrial revolutions commodities were generally scarce, and manufacturers and producers could sell almost everything they could produce as long as consumers could afford it. Therefore, they focused their attention on raising production, and working on managing the distribution of products at the lowest possible cost.

At that time, the biggest concerns in the minds of factory owners and producers were how they could produce the largest quantities, and as quickly as possible, in order to benefit from this huge demand for their products.

At that time, it was not customary for manufacturers or inventors to ask what exactly the customer needs, and what is the extent of his satisfaction with the goods. Rather, the manufacturers and inventors had the upper hand and the first and last word in their relationship with the market and consumers.

The second stage: moving towards more sales

Since the beginning of the twentieth century through the First World War, and until the period after the Second World War, competition has grown significantly, and the focus of marketing has shifted to achieving more sales.

At this time communications, advertising and branding began to become more important, because companies wanted to sell their growing products in an increasingly crowded market.

Although marketing at the time was still associated with production, it focused on distribution, communication, and convincing customers that the goods produced by a particular company are better than others.

As a result of the expansion of the market, monopolistic policies began to disappear. For example, Ford is no longer the sole manufacturer of cars, but new competitors such as General Motors have emerged. This led to an oversupply in the market in general and hence less sales.

From here, companies realized that they should give the consumer more importance, so companies turned to a new type of human resources who have negotiation and persuasion skills.

Institutions began to transform from producing factories imposing their products on their customers to selling institutions that apply the principles of marketing theories to reach the largest number of markets and the largest number of consumers.

Companies accordingly appointed a large fleet of sales representatives, who have the ability to persuade, and began to harness the media to broadcast advertisements for their products by making ads on television, radio and daily newspapers.

The third stage: Orientation towards marketing in its modern innovative concept

Since the sixties of the last century, most markets have become saturated with goods and products, and there has been strong competition to reach the customer.

From here, the producing and service companies realized the need to develop marketing departments, and to include some advanced strategies and tactics that keep pace with the times.

Marketers have become of great strategic importance within the system, and they have a major role in decision-making. Marketers are now doing studies and market research.

Accordingly, they inform decision makers about what to produce, where to sell, and how to deliver the product to the consumer.

This led to the emergence of many marketing researches to link between marketers and consumers, and try to understand and estimate consumer needs.

Customer satisfaction has become one of the most important priorities for organizations, and the saying “the customer is always right” has become a reality and not just a slogan.

Among the most important manifestations of this stage (which we live in today) is interest in brands, building a good reputation for products, and working to convince the customer through psychological factors and understanding human desires.

Of course, the most important characteristic of this stage is the great interest in digital marketing, which is based on the use of modern technology, especially the Internet.

Being online through a website to represent a business, and through social networking sites, has become an essential and obvious cornerstone for the success of any business.

Why do we need marketing?

Marketing is essential for every business today because it helps companies reach their various goals and not just sell their products and get money.

Companies need Marketing for:

1) Increasing awareness of its brand: With the increase in the number of brands, each brand needs to create awareness and a specific idea about itself towards its target audience. Today, there are many marketing campaigns that do not aim for anything but to create and increase awareness among potential customers.

2) Launching a new product or service: It is not enough to make a new product or offer a new service, now you must tell the world and your target audience that I have launched my product or service, and you need it and you must buy or use it.

3) Get a bigger share of the market: Today's markets are competitive, and pat in k

There are dozens or hundreds of competing companies in the market, and each brand must find its own space in the market.

4) Entering new markets: Companies need at times to target a new segment of customers, or to enter markets in other countries, and here comes the role of marketing to make this process profitable for the company and as smooth as possible.

5) Increasing the return on investment (ROI): Marketing has become an integrated process that has multiple standards and measures, and therefore modern marketing helps companies to obtain the best result with the lowest possible financial return.

6) Increase Sales: Well, here comes the answer you have been waiting for since the beginning. Marketing definitely helps companies sell their products and services.

7) Creating customer loyalty: Marketing is not only making the customer buy once, but making him buy from the brand always, and this is what is known as customer loyalty.

Basics of Marketing

Marketing is delivering value to the consumer, not just the service or product you provide!

This value must be characterized by your product through the process of influencing, and this is done through the message that accompanies the service or product, whether it is for luxury or for a basic need.

The influence process associated with a good marketing plan will enable you to create new markets for a new need, and great examples of this are:

Applications to list and provide offers in different restaurants. Instead of communicating with the customer service of a restaurant, you can, with the click of a button, place your order and get a good deal.

Therefore, the role of marketing strategies comes directly after defining the idea of ​​the product or service that you will provide, in order to develop a strong marketing plan on which to build your success and sales.

There are basic concepts that you should keep in mind when developing a marketing plan, which are:

1. Segmentation

In order to start the marketing plan, you must know who will benefit from the product or service that you will provide, and here comes the segmentation process, where customers are divided into categories or groups that are classified according to their benefit from your product.

For example, when opening a women's brand, you will need to segment customers into girls, teens, adults, and the elderly.

The segmentation process helps you to identify the most likely consumer to benefit from your service and to reach it easily.

It also offers you new ideas regarding less beneficial customers and how to promote your product to them as well, and from here we can address the next concept, which is targeting.

2. Targeting

After dividing customers into groups, you will find the target group, which is the category that will benefit most from your product, and which will be the cornerstone on which you will build the marketing plan and the basis of the promotion process.

Evidence for this is that if you make a funded advertisement on Facebook, you will find a box called More demographics, meaning the characteristics of the target demographics.

Through which you can target a specific segment of customers by choosing the target age, location, gender, work, physical condition, activities that customers are interested in, and other classifications.

Therefore, we can conclude that targeting a specific category makes your marketing plan easier and the promotion process more fruitful.

Also read: How to define a target audience (in practical steps).

3. Positioning

It is about finding a niche in the market you want your product to have a place in, also knowing your competitors and studying their current position in the market.

This is done through various statistics and knowledge of their marketing methods in order to create new ideas, and in order to get a good position at the beginning of launching your product, your marketing plan must have two main axes:

a) Specialization

Whenever the product or service you provide is more specialized in providing a specific purpose, the target group will be small and specific, but it is a guaranteed category of customers.

Through this small customer category, you can move in the future to a wider circle of categories and customers, of course after the success and popularity of your product in the market.

An example of this is the expensive car market, which specializes in providing luxury, and therefore targets businessmen, the wealthy, and luxury lovers.

b) Differentiation

Here you will ask yourself a question, why would a customer choose my product? The answer will definitely be because your product is unique, or the service you provide is the best in the market, or you have a unique selling point.

In order to make your services unique to customers and in the market relative to competitors, your marketing message must accurately address customer needs, in addition to the quality of your product, of course.

As we mentioned at the beginning, marketing is the expression and promotion of a specific idea, not just a product. If you adopt that principle in your marketing plan from the beginning, you will find the desired bond between you and customers.

This connection will necessarily create your branding, which will facilitate the marketing process in the future and the process of launching your new products on the market.

In order to create your distinctive brand, there are steps you can follow, learn about them in that article: What is a brand identity and 6 steps to form it professionally.

At the beginning of our acquaintance with marketing, there are simple examples through which you can understand how to make your marketing message effective. Such as the name of the product, its writing method, colors, and its logo, and that is the effective start in defining your product in the market.

There is a wider scope for this on the part of large companies, as they also distinguish themselves through employee uniforms, or provide a good working environment in which to attract new employees and business partners.

One of the successful examples of distinctive marketing messages is the Adidas brand, where the name is accompanied by the slogan “Nothing Is Impossible”, that is, there is nothing impossible. This sluggan creates a distinctive message for the athletes targeted by the brand.

Another example is the McDonald's brand, which is characterized by the slogan “I love it,” which conveys a message of love for the brand itself, regardless of its meals and food.

She presents it, which creates deep memories and feelings in her audience.

You can also see the success of other marketing elements of McDonald's by seeing its advertisements. For example, anyone from afar who sees a commercial sign with yellow and red colors, the first thing that will come to his mind is the famous McDonald's logo.

Here comes the importance of the marketing message that addresses the target group, especially targeting their emotions and feelings.

This is confirmed by studies of consumer behaviors, as making a purchase decision is usually driven by the emotion of the person influencing the decision-making or the Key Decision Influencer.

For example, when marketing cleaning powders, the housewife is targeted, as she is the most influential person in making the purchase decision in this case.

Marketing Mix

Marketing is a set of processes and steps, and in order for marketers to convey it, they have devised different strategies that suit different services, products, and companies.

One of the most important and efficient was the marketing mix… which initially included 4 elements starting with the letter P, and that is why it was called the “4 Ps”.

But with time and the increasing complexity of the models required for the marketing process, 3 other elements added to the mix, and it became known as the “7 Ps”.

Here is an explanation of these seven elements of the marketing mix:

1. Product

It certainly goes without saying that your product should be at the heart of your strategy, the entire marketing mix is about the product itself. Focus on what differentiates your product or service, and how your product is more efficient than other similar products on the market.

Through research and development in your field, you can provide new products or create greater awareness of the current product that you offer, and here the digital marketing mix is ideal for displaying your products.

For example through search engine optimization, blogs or articles, paid advertising, influencer marketing, viral video campaigns.

2. Price

This point indicates your pricing strategy for products and services, as well as how it will affect your customers.

You need to specify how much your customers are willing to pay, how much you need to mark up to cover overheads, profit margins, payment methods and other costs, and here you can follow the strategy that suits your product, whether Value Based or Cost Based.

You may also want to consider offering seasonal discounts and pricing, subscription and membership programs, or email marketing for promotions and sales to attract customers and maintain your competitive advantage.

Also read: How to price products (7 different product pricing perspectives)

3. Place

The location of your products and services is where they are seen, made, sold, or distributed. Customer access to your products is crucial, having a place where customers can find your services.

You can achieve this by designing your selling space and using effective visual marketing techniques. Even if you are not a retail business, location is an important part of your marketing strategy, finding the right business location will be an important marketing tactic if you are starting a new business.

4. Promotion

Promotion is advertising your services in order to reach the consumer, and here we include all promotional activities, including advertising, whether on the ground in your store or on your website, and advertising campaigns.

Digital promotion has become very popular for all products and services and can take many forms.

5. People

This point goes back to the employees and salespeople who work in your company, including you. You must give your company a competitive advantage by hiring the right people and training them to improve their skills in order to provide the desired customer service.

When you provide excellent customer service, you create a positive experience for your customers, and as a result you market to them, and then existing customers may publish their opinions about your service, which attracts new customers.

6. Process

It is the journey of the product or service to the consumer, and it must be designed to achieve maximum efficiency, in addition to following up customers after the purchase process, such as surveys about the service or reminding them of the warranty, as it ensures that the consumer’s journey in all its stages has advantages that are compatible with your brand.

As for the rise of online shopping, digital partnerships and logistics have become essential components of the marketing mix. Having good operations ensures that you are constantly advancing in the level of customer service and increasing the efficiency of the marketing process.

7. Physical Evidence

Physical evidence includes items that prove your brand exists and that a purchase took place, for example having customer reviews of your product on your website.

The physical store or office of your business, the website if your business is online or marketing through the Internet, and the printed business cards you exchange when you meet people are all examples of demonstrating your brand presence.

Physical or digital receipts, invoices, or follow-up emails sent to customers as a retention exercise are all examples of proof of purchase.

It also includes even packaging, typography, how products are displayed in the store, where they are placed and the context in which you sit, as well as digital placement, such as on your website and social media.

An important final word on marketing

Marketing is the password for putting any service or product on the market, an essential step for starting and sustaining the journey of any project or product.

It is what makes you share your brand story with customers and your target market, and you need that to let them know who you are, why you started your business in the first place, and what you believe in. Making your work related to a story will enable people to connect with you

Kindly go with your story.

People want to support the businesses and services they believe in, so be honest by sharing your personal and relatable story in an impactful way, and soon you'll have a loyal following and brand.

An example of this is Apple, which is the most valuable brand this year, competing with Google, Amazon and other brands.

This is due to Apple building a fan base that has loyalty to the product and the company in particular. Although the prices of Apple products are high relative to competing markets, their customers realize that they are buying value, not just a product, and this in itself is success.

We can conclude that the value of marketing is creating value for your product or the service you provide, whether through a strong marketing message or an impressive story about the role of the service or product you provide, or through effective communication with customers that creates emotional bonding and loyalty to the brand and this is what you need particulary.

The value of marketing appears in your daily life, trying to prove yourself in a job interview, or to introduce yourself to a new person, or in the outfit you choose for an occasion, all of them are normal practices, but at their core you are marketing your ideas and personality to the world.

So, dear reader, remember that applying marketing in your working life will make you a special person in any job. Because you will be the perfect choice to solve the problem, and the opportunity that will provide more services in your field, especially your personal life.

As understanding the needs of those around you and meeting those needs makes you a special and influential person, and thus success in your social life as well.

Also Read: 8 Marketing Campaigns Marketing History Will Never Forget To Learn From

The most frequently asked questions about Marketing

1. What is marketing?

Marketing is the process of attracting potential customers to take interest in your products or services, through a plan that cares about the idea of the product, knowing the consumer and the target group, and providing the need for that category of your services through appropriate promotion, and providing the appropriate price.

It's a complex process, which is why there are volumes written on marketing, and why there are certificates and academic courses in that field that may take years to study, but marketing basically includes everything you do to collect leads and the product you offer.

2. Why is marketing important?

Marketing is important because it helps companies to:

Increase its brand awareness.

Launching a new product or service.

Get a bigger share of the market.

Entering new markets.

Increase ROI return on investment.

Increase Sales.

Creating customer loyalty.

3. What are the historical stages of the development of the marketing process?

Marketing has gone through many stages of development throughout history to reach what it is now:

The first stage: moving towards more production to keep up with demand.

The second stage: moving towards more sales.

The third stage: Orientation towards marketing in its modern innovative concept.

4. What are the basics of starting the marketing process?

Knowing the target group is the cornerstone of the marketing plan, and it includes knowing the potential consumer of your product, and knowing enough information about it in order to promote your services to him in an effective manner.

Then comes the role of studying the market and knowing the competitors in your field, and from here you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, and thus know the percentage of opportunities and threats that will meet your product.

5. Is marketing necessary in all projects and businesses?

Of course yes, marketing is the opportunity for your presence in the market and how you reach the consumer, even if the product or service you provide is simple, marketing will ensure that your product reaches the target group, and thus the success and popularity of the product, then there are opportunities for greater sales or the launch of new products from your brand.

Conclusion

Marketing today has become the main driver for businesses of all kinds at all levels, from providing simple products that we choose daily to huge companies and expanding business.

Today, you have enough experience to know the concept of marketing, as your mind translates it as the process through which you sell a product or service, establish an idea, or spread awareness.

Marketing is a process that we all understand instinctively, because it is part of our existence, our personalities, and our daily dealings at work and on a personal level.